Metal container



wfF. PUNTE v METAL CONTAINER Filed Sept. 6, 1934 Nov. 5, 1935.

Patented Nov. 5, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 7 METAL CONTAINER William F. Punte, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 6, 1934, Serial No. 742,991

1 Claim.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in an easy opening container wherein the cover is secured to the container body by a sealing ring.

The invention is an improvement over the container disclosed by William F. Punte in Letters Patent No. 1,849,312 granted March 15, 1932. In the patent mentioned above, means are provided for sealing a metal container which includes a container having a body portion with an offset adjacent one end thereof forming a shoulder on the outer face of the body, a cover for said container having a depending skirt adapted to extend along the outer face of the body wall, a ring of sealing material engaging said shoulder and the lower edge of the skirt, and a sealing strip adapted to overlie said skirtof the cover and the sealing material, the lower edge of which is bent inwardly against the sealing material for sealing the container.

An object of the present invention is to provide a container of the above type wherein the sealing ring is provided with means for positively gripping a gasket of uneven contour or varying thickness so that a uniform seal may be obtained at all points in the sealing gasket.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the improved container.

Figure 2 is .an enlarged sectional view through the upper portion of the container with the sealing ring loosely applied and the sealing material in place.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the ring tightly applied to compress the sealing material for establishing a seal.

Figure 4 is ,a bottom plan view taken in section along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

The invention is directed to a container consisting of a body portion having an open end. The metal at the open end of the bodyvportion is curled preferably inward so as to form a bead and conceal the raw edge of metal. The body is provided with a bend in the wall thereof forming a shoulder on the outer face of the container which is disposed adjacent the bead. The cover is preferably provided with a depression which snugly fits within the bead at the end of the container body. The cover has a depending skirt which slips down over the outside of the body wall. Said skirt is turned back upon itself so .as to provide a smooth thickened edge at its lower end. A sealing ring or gasket is placed against the shoulder in the body wall and against the lower end of the skirt which is on a line therewith, and a sealing strip is applied for securing the cover to the container and sealing the same. Said strip has a portion overlying the cover and a portion extending vertically along the outside wall of the skirt to a point below the same, and 5 said lower portion of the sealing ring is turned underneath and compressed against the sealing material for sealing the container.

In the lower portion of the ring which is turned underneath the sealing material are semicircular 10 notches forming openings through which the gasket may protrude when clamping pressure is applied for sealing, whereby the ring will positively grip a gasket of varying thickness.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, the 16 improved container consists of a body portion I preferably made of sheet metal and cylindrical in form. To one end of the body portion is attached a closure 2 which is secured thereto by .a double seam 3. The outer end of the body wall is rolled 20 or curled inwardly as indicated at This forms a bead at the end of the body wall and conceals the raw edge of the metal. It also makes a smooth edge at the end of the body wall when the container is opened and strengthens the open end of 25 the body so as to maintain its rounded form.

The wall of the body portion I of the container is inset or contracted as indicated at 5 and this forms an inclined shoulder 6 in the body wall on the outer face thereof which is disposed a short 30 distance from the head ,4 at the extreme outer end of the body wall. 7 v

The container is closed by a cover I. This cover has a depression formed therein providing an inner wall 8 which extends down inside of and 35 makes contact with the inner edge of the bead. The cover has a portion 9 which overlies the bead and a depending skirt it. This depending skirt It is folded back upon itself as indicated at H. The folded skirt extends down outside of the body 40 wall and along the outer face of the head at the outer end of the body wall. The skirt is of such length that the lower edge l2 thereof is disposed below the upper edge of the inclined shoulder and terminates substantially in alignment with 45 the lower edge of said inclined shoulder. An elastic sealing ring l3 preferably rectangular in cross-section is placed beneath the shoulder 6 and lower edge I2 of this skirt Hi. This forms a wedge-shaped pocket which greatly aids in the 50 sealing of the container.

A cover is secured to the container by means of a sealing strip M, the ends of which overlap. One end is provided with a tongue or tab l5 for forcibly removing the sealing strip when it is de- 55 sired to open the container. The sealing strip I4 is bent so as to provide a portion [6 which overlies and extends all the way across the portion 9 of the cover I. This overlying portion is curved in the same direction as the portion 9. The sealing strip M has a vertical portion I! which extends downwardly along the outer wall of the skirt III to a point below the skirt and the sealing ring I3 is provided with an inwardly projecting portion I8 at its lower edge which is adapted to underlie the lower face of the sealing ring. The inwardly projecting portion [8 is provided with spaced semicircular notches H! which form openings 20 through which the gasket may protrude when pressure is applied to the upper and lower faces of the strip to compress the gasket and establish a tight seal. This pressure on the strip will roll the upper curved portion inwardly and shorten the vertical wall I! and thus the gasket is compressed against the inclined shoulder 6 and the edge of the skirt I2. The gasket will be forced along the inclined wall and close the opening between the skirt and the body wall and effectively seal the container.

When it is desired to open the container, the tab or tongue is pulled and this will remove the sealing strip, exposing the sealing gasket which may likewise be removed. The cover can then be easily removed and replaced at will.

From the above it will be apparent that the purpose of these semicircular notches is to provide a place for the rubber gasket to bulge or protrude when the gasket is not of uniform thickness, as is often the case. In the applicants prior patent the lower edge of the sealing strip is smooth, with no openings, and when the strip is applied to the container over an uneven gasket, the container body itself becomes distorted inwardly and this is liable to disturb the sealing surface at the upper edge of the container body where it contacts the cover and makes an unsatisfactory seal. With the applicants improved container, the unevenness of the gasket is allowed to bulge or protrude downwardly through the semicircular notches in the edge of the sealing strip and the container body remains round and the sealing contact of the top of the container body and the container is not disturbed.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A metal container including in combination a body portion having the upper edge thereof rolled inwardly to form a bead, said body portion being inset inwardly at a point below said bead for forming a sealing shoulder, a cover for said container having a depending skirt adapted to extend over the container body and terminating 

